Ben Colburn's Field Blog

Work Day 1: 9/14/09

Today was unfortunately short and sweet for me, seeing as I never actually made it to the field. After meeting briefly in a one-time classroom space to go over logistics, the class migrated over to the John Brown House for the first time to stake out the site and get introduced to the individual dig units and the methodology for our work there this semester. I had been feverish for a day or so already and after talking with Krysta, left the group en route to the JBH to visit Health Services. It ended up being a good decision, as I discovered I not only had a 103 degree fever, but also H1N1.

So no field day for me - an unfortunate introduction to the class. However, it prevented my classmates from getting sick and I was lucky to have a frat brother of mine in the class to catch me up (Thanks Siham!). I'm sure I'll pick up on things as we go and be certain to pay close attention and ask all of my questions next week at the next meeting.

Work Day 2: 9/22/09

Today was a brilliant introduction not only to the dig site itself, but also to real-life archaeology as a whole. After a brief circle-up, we each went with our respective teams to an invididual unit to focus on. I was lucky to have Alex in my group and he was able to catch me up pretty quickly on the etiquette for working on-site and documenting our progress each day as we proceeded to open up shop on Unit 7. I decided to get a better sense of everything, I would volunteer to record our progress for the day on the context sheet. After watching the group dig, sift, and measure for a while, it became pretty clear what the protocol looked like and how to appropriately follow them.

Luckily for me, my unit had only been demarcated last week, so I was able to watch the group determine the datum point and measure the corner/side depths of the plot. The work was pretty simple: gently shovel off the topsoil, trowel evenly across the pitch centimeter by centimeter, and document any finds along the way. Our finds for the day? Cheap plastic jewelry pieces and a rare artifact of ancient currency (i.e. a mucked up dime c.2001). It was nice to be the recorder because I was able to see others navigate the nuances of digging with care and sifting with precision without the worry of screwing it up myself. At least now I have a model for what an archaeological dig might be supposed to look like. Alex didn't yell at anyone, so I assume we were doign everything correct. My favorite part? Determining the Munsell values for soil color. It felt like an obsessive/compulsive exercise in determining the perfect paint swatch to accent a room's feng shui: in essence, they all looked to be virtually identical shades of brown.

In any event, I felt the day was informative, reassuring, and all around, quite enjoyable. I approve. :)

Work Day 3: 9/29/09

Today was a nice experience, overall. We all just kind of migrated in and went straight to work without the anxieties of figuring out what we were supposed to be doing. Unit 7 people just assembled together and went to work, chatting and digging in tandem, as seems to be the usual. I got to dig today and had a good time. The day's goal was to establish our first arbitrary context at 10cm below our datum point, which we very nearly accomplished. With a combination of shovel-shaving and trowelling, we flattened out our unit floor with relative precision and brought it down a good deal. The few rock features we had already uncovered last week in the southwest corner, we learned, actually extend across the N/S diagonal to effectively bisect our unit. Furthermore, we hit gravel at a few defined spots in the unit and began to prepare the opening of a third context to document that soil change.

In the course of digging, we found a few objects - some quite noteworthy and others, well, less noteworthy. Again, this seems to be the norm (at least in the topsoil layer, which we are still digging away and sifting through). We found two large screws, though Alex thought they were likely from the 70's (we can sort that in the same file folder as our gross dime). However, we also found two shards of red earthenware pottery, which were pretty cool. They were no more than a square inch in size, but Krysta (so impressive!) informed us that the green surface that we found on one shard was actually a distinguishable lead glaze that dates back to the 1700's. So apparently, even in less than 10cm, it is possible to discover history. Who knew? We found a piece of rounded clear glass, but we are unsure what that's from so far. In the meantime, let's stick with the excitement of red earthenware shards. And glaze!

As a sidenote, I'm likely famous. I got caught on film today digging on the unit. And regrettably, also dancing to trashy hip hop (there was no actual music - I was just singing to myself). Awkward dancetime fail.

Work Day 4: 10/5/09

Today was another day where the work seemed to do itself and the class seemed nowhere near as long as it actually was. We started the day by opening two new contexts on our unit (Unit JBH7): contexts 50 and 51, if you're keeping track (is anyone other than us really?). Context 51 was the gravel-esque layer on the west side of our apparent "rock wall" feature. I didn't get to work there at all, as I assigned myself to context 51. My context, a completely arbitrary one (though necessarily so), was opened when we reached the first depth of 10cm from the datum point (highest corner of the unit plot). It was essentially the same type of context, though we did discover a red-clay layer starting to appear. I also discovered, in troweling away as archaeologists are wont to do, a few tips of rocks that might indicate a perpendicular wall jointed to the one we have already discovered. It's been cool to realize the differences between the two contexts also: mine has had all of the porcelain pieces while the other has had all of the red brick. Both had some compressed coal shards, though mainly mine. Nothing particularly huge this week in terms of historical artifacts, but the exposition of the two contexts to create (potentially) a picture of some architectural structure is fascinating.

We also got to go on a tour of the John Brown House itself today. The guide was amazingly well-versed in the history of the property and REALLY excited to share it - it was really refreshing. Our group went second and because the first took up a lot of time asking questions, our tour was WAY abridged (though still nice). Also, one of the Institute's representatives came to ask about our unit and I got to give the report - I felt confident and proud to know what I was talking about and more importantly, well prepared to answer her questions. What a fun day. I approve.

Work Day 5: 10/19/09

Back after a delightful week away from the field for Fall Weekend (Columbus Day?). After a Parent's Weekend that was pretty cold and miserable, we had a good day in the field with some pretty nice weather. Digging was slow, for the most part. Apparently, Siham and my perception of what a level context look like vary significantly from one another's (!) but more importantly, from what the level says! We're committed to Context JBH51 and for better or for worse, we tend to dig the sides a bit deeper than the middle then realize we have a hump in the ground. I swear, we shovel shaved it (hard!) a few times and we STILL only got down 3cm. What frustrations archaeology harbors! We were hoping to open a new arbitrary context today, but no such luck. We'll have to save it for next week.

Interestingly, though, we did come upon a new type of pottery: creamware! We found a few largish shards of creamware with a cracked clear coat glaze that were a fun discovery. We also found a small blue and white porcelain shard (very tiny!), some really rusted nail bits, and a mustard-colored sand deposit - all unique in comparison to JBH45, the context above it. Other than that, the day was relatively normal!

Elise, if you're reading this - I'm sorry for the faux British accent! It's just intended to make excavation more fun!

Work Day 6: 10/26/09

Regrettably, I was sick today with an upset stomach and a clammy body. I spoke with Siham after she got back from class and apparently, we had ANOTHER missing person from the Unit, so we were really short on staff today. However, Siham told me that between the two remaining team members, they were able to sift ten buckets of dirt (way more ceramics in Unit 50, as well as some rusty nails and glass shards, per usual) and even break a new arbitrary context below Context 50. Not bad for just two of them!

I am going to take it easy for a day or so to make sure I'm at full health before returning to class. I look forward to getting dirty again next week and doing some good work on the new context! Thanks for all your hard work, Siham! Until then, I'll do my best to take it easy and take care of myself. :)

Work Day 7: 11/3/09

Today was a commendably miserable day to be outside playing in the dirt. However, the good news it that it took this long to remind us that it was actually a fall dig season! All the same, we did our work as always and did our best to have a good time despite the weather.

Unit 7 grew substantially deeper since the last time I saw it, particularly in Context 59, the one I had been working on (or at least, the same side of the rock wall feature). Today we really only did brute force shovel shaving, troweling around the perimeter of the context, and sifting in order to gain as much depth as possible before we wrap up our field work next week. Finds this week were pretty much the same as before: ceramics, nails, and glass, though a fair bit more glass shards this week than I can recall sifting out before.

Aside from these gems of material culture, we also dug down onto a black sprinkler hose, which ironically penetrates our rock wall feature without any visible damage. We're pretty certain that the hose was installed from the street (below ground level) and shot horizontally out under the yard using a precise engineering tool that would have put it squarely through the rock wall without any damage. Otherwise, it could not have been fed through so perfectly (unless the Brown family installed it and forgot to document it...)

Looking forward to w great last week of digging (well, mainly back filling) next week and then moving on to lab analysis!

Work Day 8: 11/9/09 (Last day in field!)

Today was our last day in the field and it was spent primarily documenting our work to date. We started by cleaning off the rock wall feature and removing stray leaves from the unit to neaten it up a bit, then we proceeded to photography various aspects of it to document our "finished product" of a unit this season. We took pictures of the feature/contexts as well as each full wall length. We also gridded and drew the rock wall feature to attach to our final report using a plomb line and string grid so that next year's group will know if any of the backfilling process changed what the feature or if it has shifted since our work this semester. Lastly, we took closing measurements at each of the corners and the center.

As night fell (so early these days!), we removed all of the stakes and rope (except for the datum point, which we are saving for next year's groups to maintain consistent measurements), then covered the unit with a tarp and began backfilling. And by that I mean we decided to fill the entire unit BACK UP WITH DIRT!!! AH! So theoretically saddening. But next year's group will be able to dig with ease and know they can stop when they hit tarp. In the meantime, our work in the field is done and we have the remaining few weeks to look forward to spending in lab analyzing our finds. Part one, accomplished!

Work Day 9: 11/17/09 (first day in lab!)

Today was our first day in lab. We left behind all of our field work at the John Brown House and finally began the arduous process of cleaning and classifying our finds. We met in the Metcalf Chemistry labs and went over a few various points of interest to keep in mind as we contextualize our finds. Specifically, we looked at some examples of the different types of ceramics discussed earlier in the class (e.g. stoneware, creamware, pearlware) so we would be able to identify them within our own finds in lab. Of particular interest was our discussion of diagnostic criteria that allow us to temporally and functionally describe an object. In addition to looking at specific examples of ways to diagnose ceramics and other general types of finds, we discussed the process by which we can establish a reliable date for various contexts and stratigraphic layers by comparing the temporal dates of the artifacts it contained. This will be important as we attempt to determine whether or not a find was actually used by the John Brown House inhabitants or whether it was shifted into the same context via natural forces over time.

We spent most of the day in lab cleaning our finds in water, making certain not to clean any objects that might be damaged by water exposure (e.g. wood, mortar, metal). We worked as a group to clean the finds of every find bag, regardless of unit number, and sorted them on screens to dry according to context and unit numbers. Along the way, we also each identified the particular three finds we will be doing out object biographies for. I chose three types of ceramics: one with a very distinct apple green glaze, one piece of blue-glazed porcelain with part of a leg rim still intact, and a piece of white ceramic with red glaze. We ended up cleaning everything from the field in one class session and we will spend the next few weeks working in lab to identify and classify everything for our presentations and final projects. Sounds fun to me!